That's Sick Man
by The-Reaper'67
Summary: Dean catches tonsillitus but is insistant on hunting a daemon while he is ill...
1. Chapter 1

Dean lay there in the lumpy, cold motel bed. His head was spinning, throat burning and every muscle in his body aching.  
"I don't see why I'm always the one to get sick" croaked Dean.  
"Because you're a man whore, that's why. If you hadn't snogged that girl in the bar you wouldn't be in this state" said Sam as he stifled a laugh.  
Dean turned away from his brother, not bothering to argue. Why did that girl have to be so cute, and why did he let himself get into such a state that he couldn't even tell that she had tonsillitis?! Darn purple nurples...

Sam watched his brother pout for a moment before he went to get some throat sweets for him from the first aid kit in the car. On his return he lay three packets of variously flavoured Soothers on the bedside table and tapped Dean on the shoulder.  
Dean turned around and looked at the sweets "Aw man, no blackcurrant?" he said with disappointment.  
"No Dean, you ate all of the blackcurrant ones, remember?"  
"...Not really" replied Dean. Sam stifled a laugh again as Dean stuck out his bottom lip in annoyance.

At that moment Dean erupted in a coughing fit, one hand clutching his throat while the other was pressed against his chest.  
"Damn Dean, don't cough up a lung... Are you okay though?" Despite his love for teasing his older brother, Sam couldn't help but be concerned about him.  
"Just peachy, Sammy" Dean croaked, breathing a little heavier than earlier.  
"Seriously Dean, if this is effecting you're chest, maybe you should go to the Doc"  
"I'm not going to no Doc, I'm perfectly"– cough – "fine".  
"Yeah, 'cause you sound sooo fine(!)"  
Sam remembered all the problems Dean had as a kid with his asthma, he was so glad when he finally grew out of it. But know he worried that it would come back... could it come back. If Dean had an asthma attack now where would he get a pump in time? Dean hasn't been to an asthma clinic in about 5 years, and even longer since he had a asthma pump.

It took Sam a moment to realise his brother was calling him, "Sam, Sam... Sammy?" he called.  
"Wh-wha?" stammered Sam.  
"Anything wrong Sam? You were away with the fairies then."  
"No, no, just thinking" Sam tried to make his voice seem as indifferent as possible, but Dean wasn't convinced.  
"You've got no need to worry, it's only a slight sore throat, I'll be fine by tomorrow".

For a moment neither of them spoke, so Dean gave up and turned over, pulling the thin sheets over his head. But the silence was broken by the sound of Sam's mobile ringing. "Saved by the bell..." said Sam.  
"Or phone" came Dean's voice from under the covers.  
Sam sighed, _Always ever so pedantic _he thought. Sam answered the phone, hearing the sound of Bobby's familiar voice on the other end "Sam? I've caught wind of a daemon not far from where you're staying at the moment. You boys up for a little hunting?"  
Sam looked over at his brother who was now leaning on one arm trying to hear what was going on. "What kind of daemon is it? Dean's feeling a little under the weather at the moment, so I might need to go alone".  
Bobby sighed "Well it's a lower level daemon so it shouldn't be too much trouble, but I'd rather you didn't go alone".

Sam got the rest of the information off Bobby and hung up the phone.  
"So... where are we going then?" grinned Dean, though it looked more like a grimace as he winced at the same time because it hurt to talk.  
"You're not going anywhere, I'm going to kick some daemon butt" smiled Sam.  
"You are not going on your own, if you are going then so am I!"  
"Dean, don't be stupid, you're sick, you can't come!"  
The argument carried on for what seemed like forever, until Sam finally gave in. Dean was always more stubborn than him.

As they walked to the Impala Dean wore a satisfied smile on his face, but that quickly wore off as the novelty of winning the argument wore off. The colour was almost completely drained from Dean's face now, and his forehead was already beginning to glisten with sweat. _Great, _thought Sam,_ this is going to be fun..._


	2. Chapter 2

A/N. _Sorry this took _so long to put up, I wrote it a bit ago but wanted to change a few things (which took ages for me to get round to do). And I haven't had time to upload it because I've been away.  
Right, enough with the excuses, hope you enjoy anyway :)

* * *

Dean's head spun as he sat in the car, Sam was driving so he could just rest his head against the cold window, maybe going on this "hunt" wasn't such a good idea after all... He kept fiddling with the heating, one moment he was too hot, the next too cold. Dean knew this must be torture on his brother, but Sam didn't say a word once.

The car slowed as it reached its destination. They pulled up to an old, deserted warehouse, surrounded by a 7ft wire fence. Dean got out of the car, still sluggish, and took the pliers from the boot to break the lock that was entwined through the gates. But this action proved more difficult due to the fact that he was weak with exhaustion. The thick metal chain finally gave way just as Sam was taking his belt off to help his brother. "I got it!" called Dean, although his voice was still rough and his breathing was slightly laboured from excursion.

"Dean, for God sake! You shouldn't have come, you sound awful!" exclaimed Sam.

"I'm fine Sammy, now lets go."

Dean pushed the gates open and got back in the car. They drove closer to the warehouse – Sam parked right outside the main doors and cut the engine. Both brothers got out of the car and entered the dark and dusty building. The doors opened out into a big room with a high ceiling filled with damp, discoloured boxes stacked on rusted metal shelves – some that had been knocked over and vandalised over the years. The air inside the warehouse was moist and stale with a cold bite to it. A rat scurried somewhere ahead in the darkness, neither brother flinched, they had been in much worse infested environments in the past.

For a long time the brothers searched the warehouse, but the creature was nowhere to be seen. Dean's breathing became heavier as time rolled on and his movements became more sluggish. Sam frowned at his brother, concern overwhelmed him, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to convince Dean that they should go home. Sam watched the rise and fall of his brothers chest out of the corner of his eye as they wandered through the building.

Sam and Dean had covered the warehouse the best they could, and it became apparent that the creature was not there. Sam turned to his brother about to say they should call it a night when Dean's frantic breaths tore through the air.

"Dean, Dean?" Sam called as he rushed to his brothers aid, catching him by the elbow before he fell, lowering him gently to the floor instead. All Dean could do was look up at his little brother with his big green eyes apologetically, he hadn't meant to get this bad. Dean's lips were becoming paler by the minute along with his skin, only two red blotches on his cheeks gave him remotely any colour. Without his pump, his asthma would almost definitely get worse within the next few minutes. The lack of oxygen getting to his brain was already making him dizzy – thick clouds of fog swirled in his head making staying conscious all the more difficult.

From far away someone was calling his name, reassuring him that he'd be fine. But the voice was so distant, and all he wanted to do was give up and go to sleep. The next thing he knew, Dean was flying. No, not flying, being carried. There were strong arms holding him like a baby close to their chest. A moment later and Dean was in the car, blurred lights zoomed passed as Sam broke the speed limit trying to get his brother to the nearest hospital as soon as possible. Dean sat there, trying to control his breathing but it was impossible, the air didn't seem to want to move in and out of his lungs.

Once in the hospital (Sam had carried him from the car into the building no doubt), Dean struggled to keep his eyes open. The exhaustion that came from struggling to breath for God knows how long was becoming too much, and the bright, white lights of the hospital made him want to close his eyes even more. But he'd try, for Sammy, to stay awake at least until a doctor came.

Sam's heart was beating at an incredibly fast rate by now, Dean's breaths were so faint that he had to check every now and then that he was still breathing and his lips were a worrying shade of blue. On running into the hospital and screaming at the receptionist that his brother needed help, he got directed to an empty bed where he lay his brother down and was told to move back to give the doctors room to work. Everything was so scary, Sam had never seen his brother in this state before. Someone placed an oxygen mask over Dean's face while the rest spoke medical jargon to each other. Someone else was leaning over him, and putting some form of drip in his hand. A small (barely 5ft 4), kind faced woman turned to him and started asking questions about Dean's medical history. In any other situation, this scene might have looked comical, with Sam being over a foot taller than this woman, she even had to crane her neck to look directly at his face. Sam tried to answer the best he could, but couldn't manage to tear his eyes away from his brother while he was fighting for his life. After the woman had all the information she needed, she gave Sam a pitying smile and said "Maybe you'd be better off waiting in the relatives room, hon. You did a great job of getting him here, but lets just leave the doctors do their job now". And with that she took him by the wrist and lead him away.

Sam was restless in the relatives room, he felt even more useless here than he did at his brother's side. It seemed like hours passed when the same woman – Julie he remembered – walked into the room with a big smile and said "He's stable now, hon, you can go see him if you like. I think he's asleep now, but you can go sit by his bed for a while".

When Dean woke up he was groggy and disorientated. Had someone been sitting on his chest for an hour? It was aching like mad. Then he remembered. "Sammy?" he called out, although barely any noise came out; his throat was on fire.

"I'm here Dean" smiled Sam "How're you feeling?"

Dean coughed "Like an elephant has been sitting on my chest." he laughed weakly and Sam joined in. He was smiling, but it didn't reach his eyes, Dean could tell that his brother was still incredibly concerned.

"Seriously though Sam, I'm fine now. What we need to worry about it finding that creature before it hurts anyone else" croaked Dean.

"Not until you're better. No hunting before then. I don't want to lose you".


End file.
